The Guardian Angel
by Tracy Diane Miller
Summary: Christmas is a time full of miracles. But for a guy who had been a giver of miracles because tomorrow's newspaper today, he is about to become the recipient of a very special miracle.
1. Default Chapter

The Guardian Angel  
  
Summary: Christmas is a time full of miracles. But for a guy who had been a giver of miracles because tomorrow's newspaper today, he is about to become the recipient of a very special miracle. This very short story was inspired by "Fate". WARNING: The story is a tear jerker.  
  
Disclaimer: Early Edition characters belong to whoever created them. All other characters are my own. No copyright infringement intended. No profit is being made. Some of the dialogue that appears in this story is not my own, but belong to the writer of the Early Edition episode "Fate".  
  
Author's Notes: This story is part of the continuing series that began with "Mirror Image." "Mirror Image" was an Early Edition/Homefront crossover story where Gary was inexplicably transported to 1946 River Run, Ohio and met and bonded with his mirror image, aspiring baseball player, Jeff Metcalf. "To Love & New Beginnings" is the sequel to "Mirror Image." In "To Love & New Beginnings", a broken-hearted Gary, now back in his own time period, meets and falls in love with Jennifer Szabo Metcalf, the spunky actress and granddaughter of Jeff Metcalf. And in "Destiny Fulfilled", the newlyweds, Jennifer and Gary, await the birth of their first child and confront enemies from the past and present. "The Garrett Jeffrey Hobson Saga" shows Jennifer and Gary's now grown son Garrett as a twenty-one law student who has also inherited his father's legacy of The Paper.  
  
Anyone interested in reading my continuing series can find these stories at Phoenix Arises: The Fan Fiction Store at the web site address that appears below:  
  
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jennifermetcalf214  
  
I dedicate this story to Janet and Vickie Jo.  
  
Author: Tracy Diane Miller E-mail address: tdmiller82@hotmail.com  
  
  
  
Chapter One  
  
Several hours had passed. The skies had turned black, somber and mournful. Yet, a steady stream of rebellious snowflakes trickled fortuitously from the heavens despite a forecast absent precipitation. Cold and impish, the snow attached itself to the ground and to the faces and hands of the bevy of onlookers who assembled across the street from the collapsed structure. However, these people seemed oblivious to the discomfort of the weather as they stared wide-eyed at the disaster unfolding before them as they watched the hustle and bustle of the rescue team. Police officers had their own challenge keeping a hungry herd of television and newspaper reporters at bay. Tragedy was news; and as perverted as it seemed, the media were peddlers in tragedy, willing prostitutes to the pimps of ratings and soaring newspaper circulation.  
  
But to one family, their interest in this tragedy wasn't bred by morbid curiosity. The man trapped inside was a loved one. Their son.  
  
"Mr. Hobson? Can you hear me, Mr. Hobson?" The chief in charge of the rescue squad called out through the megaphone.  
  
No answer.  
  
The chief had tried to elicit a response from the victim numerous times over the last hour, but to no avail.  
  
A brief silence.  
  
"Call in the coroner and body recovery team." The chief of the rescue effort finally bellowed. An underling nodded obediently.  
  
Not again.  
  
Losing a child was every parent's worse nightmare. It was a loss that violated the unspoken and natural progression of life. Parents aren't supposed to have to bury their children. Yet, twelve years ago, they had buried their daughter. Kathryn Lois Hobson was only six-years-old when she died. She had been an exuberant and precocious child with long blonde hair, sapphire eyes, and enchanting smile. Kathryn had been killed in a hit and run accident when a car driven by a drunken driver careened onto the pavement near her school where the six-year-old had been standing with two of her friends. The sweet little soul had been welcomed into Heaven and caressed in the arms of the angels. Her death left a hole in her family's hearts. Sadly, her father still felt the pangs of guilt. He still blamed himself. He had saved the man and because of his efforts, a drunk had gotten behind the wheel of a car and killed his child. But he couldn't save her. The Paper had given him the ability to change other people's destinies, to help strangers, but he couldn't even save his own child.  
  
And now it seemed as if The Paper wanted his son's life, too. The early edition was never a legacy that he wanted his son to inherit. He wanted the boy to have a normal life. But Garrett was a stubborn kid. Garrett insisted on assuming the burden; he wanted his father to have his life back again. "It's my turn now, Dad." The young heir apparent had argued.  
  
"Lousy day to die." A familiar voice echoed in Gary's head.  
  
"No." Gary whispered, his voice weak, yet determined. He looked at his mother then gestured for her to take hold of Jennifer. Lois uttered nothing in response, but instead held tightly onto her daughter-in-law. Jennifer appeared almost catatonic as she continued staring at the collapsed structure.  
  
As Gary walked towards the collapsed building, a police officer jumped in front of him. "I can't let you go in there Mr. Hobson. The rest of that structure can go at any moment."  
  
"My son is in there. So unless you plan to shoot me, you're not going to stop me. Now get out of my way!"  
  
* * * * * *  
  
It was dark and cold. But the cold air was also washed in the stench of mold from the rotting walls. Rodents squealed excitedly in the distance. The rats were trapped, too. Maybe they were searching for a way out. Or, maybe they were anticipating a hearty meal from the still human form whose lower body lay partially buried under tons of debris.  
  
It was so dark. As a child, Garrett had been so afraid of the dark.  
  
The pain that coursed throughout his body told him that he was still alive. Garrett desperately tried to move from under the debris, but the pain in his chest, arms, and legs kept him helplessly pinned under the makeshift prison. He tried to cry out for help, but his voice failed to cooperate having surrendered to the pain awhile ago.  
  
He didn't want to die.  
  
Suddenly, a blinding light appeared through the darkness. Soon, a small figure emerged in the light. Her skin was as flawless as fine porcelain. Her long, golden hair shimmered as if it had been spun on a loom. Her eyes were as blue as the Mediterranean. Yards of precious silk adorned her body. Her face told of the beauty of a celestial spirit.  
  
Garrett squinted to see through the intense light, his gaze locked on the beautiful face before him. It was the face that belonged to the child that he remembered from so long ago. It was a face that he had never forgotten, the child he had never stopped loving. She smiled at him.  
  
"Kathryn?" He whispered. 


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two  
  
Gary's heart pounded violently as he entered the building. A shower of dust in the darkness greeted him strangling the limited supply of air in its stale mist. The structure quaked knowingly like the satisfied rumblings following a hearty meal. Something assaulted him in the darkness hitting him forcefully on the shoulder. It felt like a piece of plaster from the decaying structure. His shoulder began throbbing, but he refused to focus on the pain. Instead, Gary thought for a moment before he began digging his hands deeply into the pockets of his jeans. Please God...Please, let it be there! He silently prayed. He smiled gratefully when a few seconds later his fingers made contact with an object in his front right pants pocket. He pulled out the item- a small blue flashlight. This tiny ray of hope had been a gift from his son many years ago. The memory offered Gary comfort as he clung onto hope and fought his fears.  
  
The flashlight had been a Father's Day present from a then eight year old Garrett. The little boy had diligently saved his money. In previous years, Jennifer had selected the presents that the children were to give to their father, but this particular year, Garrett had been adamant. He insisted on picking out Gary's Father's Day gift and paying for it with his own money. Gary recalled how excited Garrett was giving him this present, how Garrett beamed watching him unwrap the package:  
  
"Wow! It's beautiful. I love it. I'll carry it with me, always. Thank you, Garrett."  
  
"I love you, Daddy." The tiny voice whispered.  
  
I love you, too, son. Come here." Gary reached his arms out for Garrett. The moment ended in a warm embrace as father and son hugged each other tightly.  
  
Jolted back to the present, Gary felt the sting of tears burning in his eyes as he allowed the faint glimmer from the flashlight to slowly and carefully guide him through the darkness. More memories swirled in his mind, but these thoughts were more torturous than comforting. Gary remembered another time when he was enveloped in darkness, when no light could find its way in, as flames and smoke surrounded him. Unexpected circumstances had left him blind and trapped in an abandoned building. Then, he could feel the heat from the flames moving closer towards him as the smoke filled his lungs. His blindness had rendered him even more vulnerable to his predicament. But despite his fear he wasn't willing to surrender to Death's grip. A voice had emerged from that darkness; ironically, it was Cameron, one of the boys in that freight tunnel, who had saved his life.  
  
And Gary remembered another time and place, a building eerily similar to this one where he was trapped and awaited Death. He didn't want to die in that carpet store sub-basement. But he *expected* to die. Maybe he even felt as if he *deserved* to die. He was supposed to save Jeremiah, but he let him die.  
  
A part of him had wanted to die the day Kathryn died. When he cradled his daughter's very still body in his arms after she had been hit by that car, he would have traded his life for hers. In a brief moment, he had even bargained with God- "take me instead of her. She's just a little girl"- but his offer was refused.  
  
How often had Marissa called The Paper a blessing? But that blessing had caused him to save the man who ended up killing his daughter. And now this. Garrett was only twenty-two years old. He had his whole life ahead of him. He deserved to find love, get married, and have a family. Gary knew that The Paper was responsible for putting Garrett in this building. The story had to have been in The Paper. Garrett must have seen it; he must have known that this was going to happen. But somehow Garrett had made a choice that placed him in this jeopardy. But why?  
  
If only he had The Paper right now.  
  
Garrett wasn't dead. Somehow he knew that his son wasn't dead. And in that moment, Gary made his own choice- he wasn't going to leave this building without his son. No matter what happened, he wasn't going to come out of there without his son.  
  
"Garrett! Garrett, son, can you hear me?! Garrett!"  
  
"Meow."  
  
The familiar, yet unexpected sound momentarily halted his steps. Gary shone the flashlight in the direction of the cry. There, a few feet away, sat an orange tabby.  
  
"Cat?!"  
  
"Meow."  
  
"Cat...Cat, take me to Garrett." 


	3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three  
  
Note: Some of the dialogue that appears in this chapter is not my own, but belongs to Carla Kettner, the writer of the Early Edition episode "Fate".  
  
He remembered feeling the intense pain as the collapsed debris buried him. God, he couldn't breathe. He couldn't breathe. And then...  
  
Nothing.  
  
Was he dead? The Paper said that he was supposed to die.  
  
But life surged through him. He felt it. His fingers flickered underneath the rubble. Somehow he was able to pull himself out of the mountains of destruction that covered him.  
  
Then he saw an intense light. And a man illuminated by the glare.  
  
"Lousy day to die. Sure you want to do this?" The old man inquired.  
  
"You brought me here."  
  
"In my experience, we all get pretty much where we want to go. Having a problem with that paper, aren't you?"  
  
"I can't do this anymore."  
  
"Why is that?"  
  
"Because someone died."  
  
"And you decided that made it your turn. I've been there."  
  
"No. No you haven't. No one's been there."  
  
"If you wanna go on, you have to accept the responsibility. And the loss."  
  
"Why? I didn't ask for it. I don't want it. Do you know what it's like to wake up every morning and know what's going to happen? I don't want to know. I don't want to care. I just, I just want to wake up one morning and not know. Please, I just. just. I just. I just want to wake up."  
  
"The choice is yours. Always has been. Time to accept that."  
  
* * * * * *  
  
Kathryn sat up in the bed and wrapped her arms around Daddy's neck. She hugged him tightly. The hug lasted longer than usual. She shivered slightly. She acted as if she didn't want to let him go.  
  
"Wow! What was that for?" Gary asked curiously.  
  
"I'm making you a memory so you won't forget me." The precocious six-year- old replied.  
  
"Forget you?"  
  
Kathryn nodded. "Yes, when I leave you, Garrett, and Mommy and go home to the angels."  
  
"That won't be for a very long time."  
  
"No, Daddy. Soon. But I'm not afraid." Kathryn answered knowingly.  
  
* * * * * *  
  
Garrett realized why Dad blamed himself for Kathryn's death. It was because Dad knew that it was going to happen and somehow he couldn't stop it. With heavy emotion, Dad relived that painful day. There was a story in the Paper about a drunken man killed in a bar during a brawl. Dad had reached the bar, prevented the fight, and told the bartender to make sure that the man went home in a cab. Instead, the guy ended up in a car. It was that car, driven by the man Dad had saved earlier, that had struck and killed Kathryn. Dad had saved a life and that life had killed his daughter. Dad saw the story in the Paper about Kathryn's death, he rushed to the scene to save her, but he was too late. He had saved many people over the years, but he couldn't save his own daughter. The floodgates to Gary's pain and guilt opened and he cried. Garrett had never seen his Dad cry like that before. He walked towards Dad and hugged him tightly, comforting his father with his touch and his words. Dad's body was shaking. He told Dad not to blame himself. He had saved a life. Kathryn would have been very proud of him. And he was very proud to be his son.  
  
* * * * *  
  
A nurse brought the baby into the room. He was so tiny, so fragile looking. "He won't break." The nurse assured as she directed Gary to the chair next to Jennifer's bed. He sat down on the chair and cradled his son in his arms. Jessica smiled. She left the room to allow Gary this private time with his son. Looking down at the face of his son, Gary felt overwhelmed by emotion. The baby had a head of dark hair like his father and his mother's nose. Jeff was right- Gary felt such incredible love for this tiny person he had helped create. He never believed he could love anyone so much or be as happy as he was at this moment. Caressing his son's face, Gary whispered, "I love you, Garrett." The powerful emotions he felt manifested in the tears that streamed effortlessly down his face. His son. His dream of becoming a father had finally become a reality. Another destiny fulfilled.  
  
* * * * * *  
  
"Time goes by so quickly. I can remember the day that this picture was taken. You were just six months old. Look at you now. A grown man. I'm so proud of you. I'm so proud of the kind of man that you have become. I know that things haven't been easy. That it's not easy with you handling The Paper and going to school. I never wanted you to have that burden, The Paper."  
  
"I know, Dad. But I don't mind, really. You've given your life to helping people. Now it's time for you to have your life back again. Now it's my turn."  
  
* * * * * *  
  
The tiny glimmer of light from the flashlight and the soft cries of Cat were his beacons as Gary fought the darkness and the steady shower of debris in search of his son. And if his memories were meant to be a comfort during this hour of need, they had instead become mocking tormentors reminding him of the tests that he had endured at the Paper's whim. Tests that he had failed. For years, he struggled with his guilt in not being able to save Jeremiah. For years and in countless dreams, he was back on that rooftop. He could feel Jeremiah's hand slipping from his grip. And Jeremiah's face, his eyes fulls of fear as he plunged to his death, were forever burned into Gary's brain.  
  
There were other memories that tortured him. The thought of Jennifer and their baby teetering between life and death following her fall down the loft stairs. The doctor telling him that an emergency C-section was necessary to save Jennifer and the baby's life, but then asking him if the surgery could only save one, which one-his wife or his child- would he choose? It was an unfair choice. A choice that no one should ever have to make. And as he sat there in the hospital chapel, he prayed that he hadn't signed his unborn child's death warrant.  
  
Then, Jennifer and Garrett's lives were placed in danger while he was out answering the Paper's call, helping strangers to whom he had no connection. Years later, the Paper had sent him to a bar to save a life and because of his actions, his daughter had been killed. The overwhelming grief and guilt he experienced after Kathryn's death was hundred times worse than the emotions he confronted when Jeremiah's died. So many months in a dark hole of loss. He had pushed everyone- Jennifer, Garrett, his parents, friends- everyone- away. It took a long time for the pain to dull, but it never went away.  
  
And now, the Paper had taken him in a cruel circle. Somehow Gary knew that Garrett was in this building because of the Paper, because he was trying to save someone. When he spoke to his son this morning and asked about the saves (whether this Christmas day had offered a light load), Garrett hesitated briefly before answering, then, with a nervous laugh, the boy uttered an unconvincing "sure". His son never was a very good liar.  
  
The light from the small flashlight grew faint.  
  
"Meow!"  
  
Gary followed the sound of Cat's cry. Garrett was alive. Gary knew that. He couldn't lose another child. He wouldn't.  
  
Maybe it was just his mind playing tricks on him for in the distance, Gary thought that he saw an intense light. 


	4. Chapter Four

Chapter Four

Maybe he really was dead. What other explanation could there be for why his deceased sister now suddenly appeared before him?

Kathryn was bathed in the most brilliant light. Even in the darkness of the rubble, the surreal glow enveloped her tiny frame. Her golden hair radiated and those beautiful blue eyes sparkled. Her smile...it was just as he remembered it; so wonderful that it just seemed to fill you up inside with happiness. And hope.

She had been taken from their lives too soon. Even though he was only nine when great-granddad Jeff and great-grandmom Ginger died, Garrett remembered the priest's sermon: comforting the family in their grief, the priest reminded them that they needed to cherish their memories and be grateful for the long and happy lives that the Metcalfs had led. Heaven was the ultimate reward. God had welcomed Jeff and Ginger back home.

But Kathryn was only six years old when she died. Her life hadn't really even begun before it was all over. Garrett remembered the night Kathryn died, lying in his bed hearing Mom crying. He thought that she would never stop crying. And he heard Dad blaming himself for Kathryn's death. Tears streamed down his face. He had been raised to have faith, raised with a solid Catholic upbringing, but he couldn't understand why God had allowed this to happen. And despite his own pain the sensitive and determined little boy resolved to help his parents through the nightmare. But they wouldn't let him help them. Instead, they sent him away for a month to live with Grandmom Lois and Granddad Bernie.

And in his childhood innocence, there was a part of him that even felt that somehow he had unintentionally wished this tragedy upon his family. For a time, he had been very jealous of his little sister. He had felt that she had usurped the very special place that he held in his parents' lives. For nearly four years, he had been an only child. Then, Kathryn arrived and he was forced to share his parents' love. He didn't like that. Kathryn was the baby. It was especially worse with Dad; Kathryn became the apple of Dad's eye. The little princess. And Garrett felt as if he had suddenly become invisible. Once, he even wished that Kathryn would just disappear the he'd have his parents all to himself again. Then there was the time he ran away from home. Of course, his insecurities and jealousies towards his little sister didn't last. He did love her. He loved her very much.

But had he ever told her that...that he loved her? He couldn't remember.

Tears of regret and confusion escaped from pain-filled eyes. Garrett tried to sit up, but his lower body was trapped. Intense pain held him hostage to his agony.

"Kathryn?" He whispered.

She said nothing. She just smiled, knowingly.

Footsteps.

Amidst the angry rumble of the decaying structure, Garrett imagined that he heard footsteps in the near distance.

Perhaps it was the pain that fed its own delusions.

"Garrett!" The familiar voice called out frantically.

"Dad? I'm...in...in here. Dad... in here." His voice pleaded weakly.

"Garrett!" Gary called out again.

"In here."

A vigilant shower of debris poured from the remnants of the ceiling, drowning out the desperate voice of the building's prisoner. However, before Gary could reach his son, the unimaginable happened.


End file.
